The 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300 is 3.5" desktop hard drive. Like its 2TB sibling, the DT01ACA300 sports a rotation speed of 7,200 RPM and has a relatively low peak/idle power draw of 6.4/5.2 Watts. With peak sequential read/write speeds of 197/183 MBps and peak 4k read/write speeds of 1.17/2.19 Mbps the 3TB DT01ACA300 achieves an effective speed of 143 MBps which places the DT01ACA300 amongst the top handful of 3TB drives. Pricing of the DT01ACA300 is also very aggressive which makes the DT01ACA300 a superb value proposition. Comparing the DT01ACA300 and Barracuda shows that the DT01ACA300 is marginally faster but also slightly more expensive. [Nov '14HDrivePro]

This drive can be used as a combined system and storage drive thanks to its fast 7200K rpm and enormous 3TB capacity. Recently prices for all large drives have been dropping and the 3TB Barracuda 7200.14 is currently a good choice in terms of both value for money and performance. Not only does the Barracuda have respectable sequential read/write speeds but it also goes head to head with the various green options, consuming a very reasonable 5.4W vs 5W (idle) on average for a "green" drive. That amounts to a tiny power consumption disadvantage and a lot more speed. Overall the Barracuda is priced aggressively and represents very good value for money. [Oct '12HDrivePro]

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Welcome to our consumer Hard Drive comparison. We calculate effective speed which measures performance for typical consumers. Effective speed is adjusted by cost per GB to yield value for money. Calculated values don't always tell the whole picture so we check them against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors and more to bring you the definitive list of top HDDs. Share your opinion by voting. [HDrivePro]

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